Brooks has been getting a lot of play out of their Dashing Bikes project to celebrate their 150th anniversary. And while at first we didn’t really want to over do it covering them for the sake of leather saddle PR, the project bikes themselves have been really unique and interesting in their own right, and to be fair, irrespective of the saddles and bar tape. The latest special edition bike is the simple steel Pelago Stavanger from Finland. We’ve seen their no-nonsense bikes on occasion in Europe, but this latest makes for a simple, functional look that ties a classic build together for an everyday practicality…
The Stavanger is a classic road bike in the sense that many companies had stopped building for years, but the more recent growth of road touring, the resurgence of randonneur, and the all-road movement have brought back in vogue. That means a classic butted steel frame and steel fork with a full suite of rack & fender mounts and room to roll on some comfortably squishy road tires along with full coverage fenders.
The result is a bike that is just as happy to take you on your commute back-and-forth to the office all year round, as it would be to head off on an adventure across the Scandinavian Peninsula.
The built-in-Finland Stavanger starts by welding up a set of double butted 4130 chromoly tubes for the frame, and adds in a matching lugged fork that gets copper plated to tie together the whole Brooks 150th look. That of course adds in a limited edition Swift saddle with copper rails & rivets and matching leather bar tape, plus a numbered copper badge on the seattube.
The bike adds in a contemporary spec, albeit at the more budget-friendly Shimano 105 level, for high quality performance. Paired with the 105 double are a set of Sugino cranks with a cross-like compact 46/34 set of chainrings to get you up the steepest hills and a set of TRSP Spyre mechanical disc brakes for reliability far off the main roads.
The Dashing Pelago Stavanger will only be produced to order in a total of 15 pieces and will set you back 2500€. (The standard edition of the modern classic Stavanger do-it-all road bike, with a similar build kit will set you back just 1800€.) It is available in sizes from 50-62cm, and includes a set of light aluminum full coverage fenders.
